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It wasn't until the victim would go to use their phones, wallet or purse that they realised they were missing.

As well as in Essex, Balaceanu had committed similar offences in Hampshire, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Wiltshire, London, Hertfordshire, West Yorkshire, Sussex, Kent, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Cheshire during a nine-month period.

On May 22, he was arrested by officers from Hampshire Constabulary after they stopped a vehicle, which flashed up on their ANPR system in Basingstoke.

The defendant was identified as one of the occupants and it was determined that he was wanted for a number of offences.

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After his arrest he was transferred to custody in Hertfordshire and remanded.

An inquiry was conducted by Hertfordshire Constabulary's Specialist Investigation Team, supported by fellow officers and staff on the Local Policing Command, to piece together the path of Balaceanu's criminality.

On Thursday, August 29, he appeared before St Albans Crown Court and pleaded guilty to 53 offences. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

DC James Kier, from the Hertfordshire Specialist Investigation Team, said: "The scale of Balaceanu's offending was very significant.

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